Indiana University Athletics
DiPrimio: ‘Strong Foundation’ – IU Seeks Fifth Straight Big Ten Men’s Swim Title
2/25/2026 10:30:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Let's start with the dragon, not of HBO's "Game of Thrones" or "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" fame, but the Hungarian mythical beast and the Indiana swimming national champion who has its name and knack for heating up the water.
Zalán Sárkány, the two-time defending NCAA 1,650-yard freestyle champion, is set to lead the No. 3 Hoosiers into this week's Big Ten meet as the University of Wisconsin's Soderholm Family Aquatic Center, and beyond.
Sárkány means dragon in Hungarian and refers to a mythical winged, fire-breathing reptile sometimes shown with seven heads.
The Hoosiers' Sárkány doesn't have seven heads but does have a large dragon tattoo.
"He's fast," coach Ray Looze says with a smile. "He's like a dragon."
Sárkány dominates in the 1,650- and 500-yard freestyle races (he has the conference's best times in both) and excels in the 400-yard IM. In two seasons since transferring from Arizona State, he has nine of the 10 fastest 1,000-yard times in school history.
Sárkány is among the many reasons why IU is favored to win its fifth straight Big Ten men's title and again place high at the NCAA Championships. It is 8-0 for the season with dominating victories over swimming brand names such as Florida and Michigan.
The main Big Ten challengers are No. 11 Ohio State, No. 12 Michigan, No. 15 USC, No. 19 Northwestern and No. 24 Wisconsin.
Beyond Sárkány, Indiana added Luke Ellis, a freshman out of Las Vegas, to boost its distance swimming. Looze calls Ellis "The No. 1 distance recruit and maybe the No. 1 overall recruit." The Hoosiers also landed Florida transfer Luke Whitlock, a member of the 2024 U.S. Olympic team in 800-meter freestyle.
"Distance was a weakness for us last year except for Zalán," Looze says, "and now it's a solid part of the team."
Talent includes shorter races. Owen McDonald has excelled at the 50 freestyle, the 100 backstroke and the 200 IM this season. Last year, he won individual Big Ten titles in the 200 IM, the 100 backstroke and the 200 backstroke to win conference Swimmer of the Championships honors.
Then there are other promising newcomers such as freshman Noah Cakir, who recently won Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors for excelling in the 1,000-yard freestyle, the 200-yard butterfly and the 500-yard freestyle during a win over rival Purdue.
Sophomores Miroslav Knedla and Raekwon Noel thrived in backstroke and butterfly races in a team victory over then No. 6 Louisville. Sophomore Alexei Avakov ranks No. 3 in the 100 breast.
"We have some freshmen and sophomores I'm excited about," Looze says. "We'll see how they do."
Much was expected from freshman diver Josh Hedberg, a USA national championship diver who had won a 10-meter synchronized 10 meter bronze medal at last year's World Aquatics Championships with former IU NCAA champion Carson Tyler. However, Hedberg is out for the rest of the season with an injury. Still, the Hoosiers have a pair of impressive divers in Max Weinrich (the 2024 NCAA runner-up in platform) and Joshua Sollenberger.
Diving under coach Drew Johansen has been a huge factor in IU's Big Ten and NCAA success, earning 100 points at the national meet each of the last three seasons.
"We can win the Big Ten if we just do what we're capable of," Looze says. "We can win that even with the loss of the diver.
"We have good freshmen and transfers. We did a good job of recruiting. With what we lost from last year, we could have really fallen off. That's not going to happen.
"We have a very strong foundation. We recruit well in high school and do well in the portal.
"We want to stay in the (national championship) mix. We're more like the tortoise. Slow and steady wins the race. We want to stay in the upper echelon mix and punch one through. We'll keep trying until we do."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Let's start with the dragon, not of HBO's "Game of Thrones" or "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" fame, but the Hungarian mythical beast and the Indiana swimming national champion who has its name and knack for heating up the water.
Zalán Sárkány, the two-time defending NCAA 1,650-yard freestyle champion, is set to lead the No. 3 Hoosiers into this week's Big Ten meet as the University of Wisconsin's Soderholm Family Aquatic Center, and beyond.
Sárkány means dragon in Hungarian and refers to a mythical winged, fire-breathing reptile sometimes shown with seven heads.
The Hoosiers' Sárkány doesn't have seven heads but does have a large dragon tattoo.
"He's fast," coach Ray Looze says with a smile. "He's like a dragon."
Sárkány dominates in the 1,650- and 500-yard freestyle races (he has the conference's best times in both) and excels in the 400-yard IM. In two seasons since transferring from Arizona State, he has nine of the 10 fastest 1,000-yard times in school history.
Sárkány is among the many reasons why IU is favored to win its fifth straight Big Ten men's title and again place high at the NCAA Championships. It is 8-0 for the season with dominating victories over swimming brand names such as Florida and Michigan.
The main Big Ten challengers are No. 11 Ohio State, No. 12 Michigan, No. 15 USC, No. 19 Northwestern and No. 24 Wisconsin.
Beyond Sárkány, Indiana added Luke Ellis, a freshman out of Las Vegas, to boost its distance swimming. Looze calls Ellis "The No. 1 distance recruit and maybe the No. 1 overall recruit." The Hoosiers also landed Florida transfer Luke Whitlock, a member of the 2024 U.S. Olympic team in 800-meter freestyle.
"Distance was a weakness for us last year except for Zalán," Looze says, "and now it's a solid part of the team."
Talent includes shorter races. Owen McDonald has excelled at the 50 freestyle, the 100 backstroke and the 200 IM this season. Last year, he won individual Big Ten titles in the 200 IM, the 100 backstroke and the 200 backstroke to win conference Swimmer of the Championships honors.
Then there are other promising newcomers such as freshman Noah Cakir, who recently won Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors for excelling in the 1,000-yard freestyle, the 200-yard butterfly and the 500-yard freestyle during a win over rival Purdue.
Sophomores Miroslav Knedla and Raekwon Noel thrived in backstroke and butterfly races in a team victory over then No. 6 Louisville. Sophomore Alexei Avakov ranks No. 3 in the 100 breast.
"We have some freshmen and sophomores I'm excited about," Looze says. "We'll see how they do."
Much was expected from freshman diver Josh Hedberg, a USA national championship diver who had won a 10-meter synchronized 10 meter bronze medal at last year's World Aquatics Championships with former IU NCAA champion Carson Tyler. However, Hedberg is out for the rest of the season with an injury. Still, the Hoosiers have a pair of impressive divers in Max Weinrich (the 2024 NCAA runner-up in platform) and Joshua Sollenberger.
Diving under coach Drew Johansen has been a huge factor in IU's Big Ten and NCAA success, earning 100 points at the national meet each of the last three seasons.
"We can win the Big Ten if we just do what we're capable of," Looze says. "We can win that even with the loss of the diver.
"We have good freshmen and transfers. We did a good job of recruiting. With what we lost from last year, we could have really fallen off. That's not going to happen.
"We have a very strong foundation. We recruit well in high school and do well in the portal.
"We want to stay in the (national championship) mix. We're more like the tortoise. Slow and steady wins the race. We want to stay in the upper echelon mix and punch one through. We'll keep trying until we do."
Players Mentioned
Breast
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Multi
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Free/IM
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Diving
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Multi
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Multi
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Multi
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Diving
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Diving
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Freestyle
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